Broadband data and video services, on which our society and economy have grown to depend, have heretofore generally not been readily available to users on board mobile platforms such as aircraft, ships, trains, automobiles, etc. While the technology exists to deliver such services to all forms of mobile platforms, past solutions have been generally quite expensive, low data rate and/or available to only very limited markets of government/military users and some high-end maritime markets (i.e., cruise ships).
At present, a wide variety of broadcast television (TV) services are available to terrestrial users via satellite links. Such services include commercial Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) services (such as DirecTV® and EchoStar®) and custom video, such as rebroadcast video, over private Fixed Satellite Services (FSS) or Broadcast Satellite Services (BSS) satellites. The data services which can be provided via satellite link include all conventional Internet services (e.g., email, web browsing, NetMeeting, etc.), as well as virtual private networks (VPNs) for corporate and government customers.
Previously developed systems which have attempted to provide live TV and data services to mobile platforms have done so with only limited success. One major obstacle has been the high cost of access to such broadband data and video services. Another problem is the limited capacity of previously developed systems, which is insufficient for mobile platforms carrying dozens, or even hundreds, of individuals who each may be simultaneously requesting different channels of programming or different data services. Furthermore, presently existing systems are generally not readily scalable to address the demands of the traveling public.
Certain services currently available provide a limited subset of the above described services. One such service provides a narrow-bandwidth Internet connection to users on a mobile platform. Another service provides either TV broadcast services from available direct broadcast signals (i.e., EchoStar® and DirectTV®) or provides a custom TV broadcast signal through dedicated satellite links (i.e., Airshow®). However, no system or method presently exists for providing high speed (i.e., greater than 64 Kbps) data networking services to groups of users on mobile or remote platforms, let alone for providing such high-speed networking services together with video services.
There are several operational systems that provide limited Internet data services on commercial airlines and cruise ships. These systems are very limited in their link capability (primarily use communication links developed for telephony) and the service is very expensive (greater than about $1.00 per minute for voice connection). For these reasons, and in view of adherent limitations on the capacity of such systems, such systems have met with limited commercial success and acceptance.
Current operational systems generally use Inmarsat satellite communication links or terrestrial wireless communication links (i.e., the National Air Telephone System “NATS”) to achieve 2-way connectivity to mobile platforms. These connection forms have several drawbacks:    1) a limited connection bandwidth (typically less than 64 Kbps);    2) limited overall system capacity (due to limited frequency spectrum); and    3) high expense.
Inmarsat operates in the L-band frequency spectrum, where there is very little bandwidth and capacity available for providing broadband services to the traveling public. NATS based solutions (i.e., GTE Airfone®, AT&T Claircom), familiar to domestic airline travelers who use seat back-mounted telephones, also provide very limited capacity because of operation at L-band. These systems also suffer from the additional problem that connectivity is only available over land.
Current mobile platform connection methods are inherently narrow band and restrict the flow of data to the point where common networking tasks are impossible. Typically, this connectivity is achieved through the use of a standard computer telephone modem between the user's computer and the air-ground or ship-shore telephony system. In this scenario, each user gets exclusive use of a full communications channel for the duration of his/her networking session and effectively prevents others from using that portion of the telephony system.
One other service that has received some attention is a service that provides pre-stored world-wide-web content to users on a mobile platform. This service is anticipated to incorporate a server located on a mobile platform to provide its stored content to users on the mobile platform through a simple touchscreen interface. The content located on the server would be updated once every few weeks while the mobile platform is in an inactive mode, such as when an aircraft is parked at an airport gate or a ship is docked at a port. The update of the data on the mobile platform would be accomplished through the loading of CDROMS or swapping of hard drives on the server. Although the content stored on the mobile platform with this service can be varied, it will never be timely.
In view of the foregoing, there is a significant need to provide a system and method for providing live television programming and bi-directional data communication to users onboard mobile platforms via one or more satellite links. More specifically, there is a need to provide Internet data communication, Direct Broadcast Satellite Services via BSS satellites, and rebroadcast video of live television programming via Ku or Ka-band satellites to a plurality of users onboard one or more mobile platforms, and in a manner which allows each user to request and receive Internet or other forms of real time data, as well specific live programming which he/she desires to view.
There is also a need to provide a system and method for enabling hundreds or more mobile platforms, such as aircraft, to communicate with a plurality of satellites, where each satellite includes a plurality of independent transponders, such that each mobile platform can communicate with an assigned transponder to permit bi-directional data communications by each passenger and viewing by each passenger of selected live TV programming.